Business briefs, April 3

DURHAM -- A Raleigh-based restaurant group plans to open a Japanese sushi restaurant called Basan at Diamond View III, the new office and retail building next to the Durham Bulls Athletic Park and across from the American Tobacco campus.

Tara Zechini, marketing director for the hospitality company Eschelon Experiences, said the restaurant is targeted to open toward the end of the year.

The group also includes restaurants in Raleigh’s North Hills and Cameron Village shopping centers, and in downtown Raleigh on Fayetteville Street.

Moe’s Southwest Grill and Which Wich have opened in Diamond View III, and Pitmaster Ed Mitchell is planning to open a barbecue restaurant called ’Que.

Scynexis changes IPO terms

DURHAM -- Durham-based drug developer Scynexis Inc. cut the targeted price of its initial public offering Wednesday to a range of $7 to $8 per share.

The company would still raise nearly $59 million from the offering at the high-end of that price range. That’s because it also increased the number of shares in the offering to more than 7.3 million. The underwriters also have an option to buy another 1.1 million shares as well.

The company is targeted to go public Thursday, according to IPOScoop.com. The company is looking to pay for costs associated with the launch of Phase 2 trials and the start of Phase 3 trials for its lead product candidate, a fungal infection treatment. The company also wants to pay off debt.

The company is a 2000 spin-out from the pharmaceutical company Aventis, which became Sanofi-Aventis following a merger. It began as a chemistry and animal health services company that provided contract research.

The company has 38 scientists on staff with doctoral degrees and pharmaceutical experience, according to regulatory filings.

N.C. fast-food workers to protest in Durham

DURHAM -- Fast-food workers are expected to join North Carolina NAACP and faith leaders at the Taco Bell on North Duke Street in Durham Thursday in a wage protest.

According to a news release from the group, they will protest “against systematic and illegal wage theft in the industry.” This will be the latest in a string of protests by fast-food workers in Durham. Others were in January, December, October and August.

In March, McDonald’s workers in three states -- California, New York, and Michigan -- filed lawsuits against the company and several franchise owners detailing alleged violations they say are keeping workers from getting what they’re owed, according to the Associated Press.

The White House and federal lawmakers have been pushing for an increase to the federal minimum wage to $10.10, up from $7.25.

Durham, Chapel Hill start-ups NC IDEA semi-finalists

DURHAM -- NC IDEA, a Durham-based nonprofit that offers grants to North Carolina entrepreneurs and companies, has selected 25 start-ups from around North Carolina as semifinalists for four to six grants of $50,000.

The 25 were chosen from 133 applications from start-ups working on new software, information technology, medical device or materials science businesses.

The Durham businesses were AnyCloud, CellBreaker, CrowdTunes, Mati, RocketBolt, and TransCirrus. Chapel Hill’s Eighty Percent Solutions and Wrenchworks were also named as semifinalists.